Rogue FestiveAle

Brewed by Rogue Ales
Style: Saison
Newport, Oregon USA

Serve in Tulip

The 22 ounce bottle poured a bright orange apricot colored hazy beverage with a very large off-white creamy head that was mostly lasting once it settled down and it left good lacing on the glass. The aroma started off presenting my senses with notes of sour fruit and dust. The body was quite full with lively carbonation and the texture was smooth and creamy. The flavor presents a decided sourness with a shy, almost timid sweetness lurking the background. The finish is long with an alcohol warmth accompanied by a respectable bitterness and the sourness hangs on all the way to the end as well.

Deep golden glow with slow bubbliness rising within. Tall inch cap of soft whitish fluffy foam keeps for a bit, fading to a hold a solid skimming cap of foam and sturdy collaring built along the sides. Loafy, lazy lacing creeps back down leaving a pattern of spots and globs. Aroma of high ended grasses and dried herbs make the forefront with a slight sweet pale malt backing and a spritz of orange peel zest. Taste is snappy, yet calm with an active body of lightly enhanced flavors of herbs and grasses. Saaz hops make up a good portion of the dryness that takes place along the sweetened pale malt backing. Which stays nicely behind as it pokes through in areas where needed. Nice subtle entry of the herbal and grassy things are delicately woven and placed along the entire palate. Interestingly flavored. Finish is herbal dry with notes of Saaz hop leafyness and grassyness. Narry a bitterness to it really, mostly dry and grassy with a mild disposition about its character. Steady, firm, and close to medium in body with a clean, dryish carbonation. Perfect sweet and paled malt balance and backing to its overall dry herbalness. An accommodatingly fair drinker too. Sits well and balanced with a fairly smooth tender snap. Finish has a very lovely air about it that carries orange peel and grains of Paradise very late in a slight Saaz hop drying heat in the back of the throat. Kinda nice actually. Another Rogue solid brewed ale; or Saison, or whatever it is.

22oz bottle from Bev Mo in La Mesa. Poured a hazy deep golden color. A pretty heavy head that stuck around for a while. The flavor was a bit weird, it had some orange and banana...maybe some mango as well?? I might not be used to drinking beers of the Saison style......the beer was a bit strange to me.

I thought it was a classy, rich flavored, well crafted, distinquished tasting brew, with a nice rich frothy head, and I’ve had enough Belgian types of ale to feel comfortable in asserting that it is in the ballpark flavorwise with those ales. Also, my wife enjoyed it too, which is a surprise, because she’s usually one of those typical lite beer weight-watching types. Definitely I intend to be a repeat customer on this one. Rogue brewing does not appear to be trying to be traditional, in my opinion they always put their own spin on existing types, or create new types, and do a pretty good job at that.

Bottle. Poured a cloudy amber with a decent sized white head that mostly lasted and left great lacing. The aroma was a little weird; spices, fruits, a little citrus, maybe some perfume. The flavor did not get much better. A unique mix of spices and a yeast background. Very dry with very lively carbonation that takes away from the flavor. I think this is the first Rogue that I’ve had that I can honestly say I will not get again.

I thought this beer had a strange flavor... kind of yeasty, and herbal. I did not like this beer very much.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2006 Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours hazy orange\gold with an off-white head. Aroma of citrus, sweet malts, spices, and fruit. Flavor is carbonated, sweet, spicey, fruit finish.

Pours a clear golden bronze with a large airy off-white head. Earthy grainy mild malt liquor-like aroma has some green pine character. Body starts with a semi-sweet earthy maltiness toward a thin bittersweet finish. Not too true to style, but not that bad either.